contact center

Despite the rise of social media, live chat services and chatbots, email is still one of the most commonly used communication channels for businesses and individuals all over the world. In 2017 alone, over 269 billion emails were sent every single day.

When it comes to your business, the chances are that you communicate with your customers using this traditional method. In fact, as many as 46% of customers will choose email as their preferred method of communication.

So, as a business, what emphasis do you place on making sure that these emails are of the highest quality? Thanks to the level of connectivity that we all share, thanks to the internet, your customers now expect the very best service possible. They want to feel special. They want to feel valued. They want to feel like you care about them as individuals. >>>

Everyone working in customer service knows that words are incredibly powerful, and some of them can truly either make or break customer service experiences. In fact, according to Andrew Newberg M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, the authors of Words Can Change Your Brain, a single negative word can trigger the release of dozens of stress-producing hormones. Using the right customer service phrases in your communication with customers makes all the difference between a bad service and a delightful one.

Empathy is the Key to Excellent Service

Empathy is the ability to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. Believe it or not, customers are not expecting customer service professionals to resolve their issues 100% of the time. On the other hand, they do expect empathy from service agents every single time they contact your company’s support. Empathy statements can do so much in making customers feel that they are understood, respected, and their feelings are validated. >>>

It’s no secret that customer service employees have to deal with angry customers nearly about 80% of the time. In this digital age only a few people will call your support to inquire about a product or service when most of the answers can be easily found online.

While you obviously can’t control problems caused by malfunctioning products or service errors, you can control how you respond to complaining customers. The stats show why you should take them seriously:

Nearly 70% of customers quit doing business with an organization because they felt they were treated rudely or with indifference.

Monitoring service levels has always been a fundamental aspect of managing a contact center. However, advanced contact center and customer relationship software has led to an abundance of data and a growing number of reports that have become unmanageable.

This influx of information has become a perplexing problem for contact center managers, as well as C-level executives, who want to make sure their contact center is performing optimally. When you’re spending a considerable amount on contact center system hardware and software, you want to make sure you’re getting its full value, including effective use of data generated. However, you don’t want to get to the point of the proverbial “analysis paralysis.” >>>

In today’s digital, fast-paced world customer expectations and the rules of customer engagement are rapidly changing. What used to be acceptable and satisfactory in customer service a while ago is no longer enough. Being able to recognize and adjust to these new dynamics is absolutely vital in acquiring and retaining customers. While failure to address the changing consumer needs can put your business at risk.

Consumers are mobile and self-reliant: they are talking, texting, browsing, chatting and tweeting more than ever. Their lifestyles demand fast and convenient access to information anytime, anywhere. And, not surprisingly, they will no longer tolerate poor customer service. In fact, 72% of consumers already stopped doing business with a company because of a bad service experience. >>>

No matter how hard we try we simply cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time, that’s why customer complaints are inevitable in customer service. Whatever the problem might be, the way you address unhappy customers and handle their complaints can have a major impact on your company’s reputation.

Obviously, ignoring complaints and failing to resolve them can make your customers leave and spread negative word of mouth. On the bright side, 56%-70% of the customers who complain to you will do business with you again if you resolve their problem. If they feel you acted quickly and to their satisfaction, up to 96% will do business with you again, and they will probably refer other people to you. >>>